Vengeance of Fate
by WalrusWins257
Summary: [Sequel to Warriors of Steel] Blood spilled on the lands of Ninjago. Blood of a million men, all fighting for a common goal: kill the enemy. Now, with the Dark Island having failed in their attempt to seize Ninjago, and the sleeping giant having been awoken, four men must fight through the jungles to avenge what was lost. [Ninjago AU]
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back, ladies and gentlemen! I'm back and [hopefully, depending on your opinion] better than ever! So, this is the long awaited sequel to my first fanfic, 'Warriors of Steel'. If you haven't read WoS yet, then I absolutely suggest reading it and/or my one-shots [though the latter is not essential to the storyline].**

 **DISCLAIMER: I most certainly do not own Ninjago. It's probably a good thing that I don't, otherwise it may end up a tad too graphic for a PG audience.**

 **I sincerely hope you enjoy chapter one of WoS: Vengeance of Flame!**

Chapter 1: The Warpath

Rain drops poured onto the soft ground that covered Wildwood Forests. The entire forest was covered in mud, making traversing the forest a whole lot worse for Kai Smith.

He adjusted the small scope on top of his standard issue Ninjagan-made L-19 assault rifle. Kai, who was a member of 3rd Battalion, 12th Ranger Division, moved as quietly as he could wearing full combat gear through the densely wooded area. He brushed across a thicket, causing several thorns to cut holes into his ACU.

A resounding series of cracks could be heard as Kai made his way out of the thicket and removed the thorns from his leg. He silently cursed himself for being so clumsy, and raised his rifle. _'Just a few hundred feet,'_ he thought to himself, _'and I'll be home free.'_

He continued scanning the trees, making sure to watch his step so he didn't land on any tripwires. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and whipped sideways just in time to see Private Yomi Tokawi get snared inside of a trap that Kai had set up only a few hours prior.

Kai made a _psssh_ sound and raised his rifle, pulling the trigger and letting a BB round hit Tokawi in the gut, therefore 'killing' him and keeping him out of the game.

The standard BB made less sound that the real bullets used in combat, but it still made noise. Enough noise to draw the attention of the other Rangers who were hunting Kai through the woods. The crunching of boots could be heard behind Kai as he swiftly broke into a sprint.

He turned for a few seconds to see if he was being trailed, and his foot hit a tripwire, causing a net to come from below.

Kai had moved in time to keep his entire body from being snared, but his legs were still caught and he was hoisted up at a fast rate, now hanging upside down from the net.

The soldier cursed and reached for his knife to cut himself loose, but before he could he caught site of two more enemies, one Lars Panrocka and a new recruit Kai was yet to meet personally. Kai pulled his arms up with his rifle in tow, and fired four rounds. One missed, two hit Lars in the chest, and the fourth caught the recruit in the helmet.

Kai quickly reached down and grabbed his knife from his belt. He began sawing away at the net, dropping his rifle. He could see no less than five more people heading towards him, so he sped up his process. His gloved hands went fast, cutting pieces of the net off.

Eventually, he was able to cut himself loose. He dropped to the ground, and spun around, pulling his P12S handgun from its holster. He began firing at the enemies, hitting each at least once. He emptied the magazine and stood up, taking off once more. He could almost see Colonel Rogers holding the bell only around 60 yards away.

BB rounds began flying around Kai, smacking into trees and whizzing by him at high speeds. The soldier reloaded his P12S and turned around, firing away at random targets. He wheeled around and slammed right into fellow soldier Skylor Chen, who had been hiding right around the tree near Colonel Rogers.

The girl gave Kai, who was now flat on his back, a grin, before raising her rifle and firing off two shots. Both hit his chest causing Kai to jump slightly from the pain.

"Nice try, Smith," Skylor said, offering Kai a generous hand up, "But you know I'm the master of disguise. I can vanish from your eyes!" She said as Kai took her hand.

Colonel Rogers, who still held the bell, walked over to the two with a grimace on his face. He was wearing standard ACUs with no combat gear nor armaments. "Private First Class Smith, if you can't survive a training exercise then you won't survive the Dark Island." Rogers said, setting the bell down on the ground.

Kai sheepishly rubbed the band of his head. "Sorry sir, I just don't know Wildwood Forests that well."

"And you think you'll know the jungles of the Dark Island any better?" Rogers replied, before shaking his head in disappointment and picking up the bell. "Be back at Fort Justice in 20 minutes for debriefing. I'll see you there." He muttered before walking north towards the fort.

Skylor and Kai both saluted. "Yes sir!" They said in unison.

"Jeez. Looks like Mad Dog Rogers is pretty upset. Wonder what's gotten on his nerves?" Kai said, watching the man walk away.

Skylor merely shrugged. "Who knows with him? Maybe he's just worried that we'll hurt ourselves."

A cry from behind interrupted their conversation: "Can anyone help me down from here, or are you just going to leave me hanging for the night?"

They both turned to see Private Tokawi struggling to remove the net from his legs. Quickly, the new recruit rushed through the mud to help him.

"Looks like 'Hothead' ain't cut out for the jungle after all." Came a voice from Kai's left. Turning to identify it, he found Lars Panrocka looking back at him with a slightly grin on his face.

"Cut it, Panrocka. It's not like you made it very far either." Kai countered, now sporting his own smile while brushing the thick mud from his shoulder patch.

Lars threw up his hands in mock surrender. "You got me, Kai. I might as well just stay here at good ol' Justice and let you guys do the fighting."

The recruit and Yomi, now finished with their task of removing the latter from the tree, watched the engagement unfold. "Maybe both of you guys can stay here and get chewed out by Rogers for not getting back to base in time." Tokawi said, before nudging the recruit lightly. The recruit looked confused for a minute, before nodding wildly and chuckling. They both wheeled around and began their jog back to base.

Skylor removed her brown-green camouflaged helmet and watched them go. With the rain hitting her red hair, she asked her comrades, "Hey, who's the new guy? Kid doesn't look older than 18..."

Kai shrugged. "I dunno, but he passed Ranger school, which means he must have _something_ going for him. At least I hope so, unless the integrity of High Command has deteriorated so much that they just let anyone in now." He said, earning a chuckle from Lars.

"Let's just get back to Fort Justice," Skylor said, eager to return, "Lest Ol' Dog Rogers reprimands our asses."

The jog back was uneventful, with the trio just barely making it back to the large complex known as Fort Justice. The base was situated on a fairly small hill in the center of Wildwood Forests. It was a good place for training exercises, which is what the Rangers had been doing for the last few weeks. Great guard towers holding snipers and machine-gunners stood hovering over the base like guardian angels.

The trio quickly made it back to the barracks, laughing and smiling. Tanks and armored cars lined the buildings, with Rangers from 3rd Battalion chatting, marching, and moving about to get out of the rain.

Kai made a quick pit stop at his bunk, setting his muddy rifle and helmet next to his cot. He sighed, looking out the nearby window at the falling raindrops. _'Am I really ready to head the Dark Island? It's not like I've ever left Ninjago before.'_ He asked himself, waiting for an answer. An answer from someone, _anyone_ , would suffice. His conscience, his brain, maybe even God.

When he received no such answer, he sighed again and dragging his hands down his face. _'What am I doing? I signed up for this job, and when they have a task for me to complete, I have to do it.'_ With this thought in mind, Kai took a deep breath, straightened out his ACUs, and made his way to the debriefing room.

Pushing open the white door, Kai was surprised to see the 20 troops in his squadron already there. _'Am I late?'_ he asked, quickly stepping into formation with his squadron.

Colonel Rogers was leaning over a map on a wooden table, a grimace on his face. The shadow from the dying lights made him look 20 years older than he actually was, and 20 years wiser.

Slowly, the Colonel pushed himself up and looked at the squadron. He placed his hands behind his back, stood up straight, and addressed them directly. "Gentlemen and Ladies, you've done an excellent job in training for the past few weeks." He paused, seemingly pondering what to say. "I-I've got some fairly… bad news." He shifted, a sad look plastered on his face. "I've been promoted."

The Rangers looked around at each other, seemingly confused. This was great news! Of course it was sad to see Colonel Rogers go, but it was a good place for him. Skylor spoke up. "That's great, sir! Congratulations!"

The Colonel forced a smile. "I've been put in charge of the entire 1st Ranger Regiment." He began fidgeting with the pencil in his hands behind his back. "But… but that's not all the news I have." His forced smile fell off of his face, and it was back to sadness. "The invasion of the Dark Island starts in two weeks. All 8,000 men in the 12th Ranger Division are being airdropped into the city of Haelram, which is a large coastal city 50 miles south of the Darese Capital Jankikai." He paused again, glancing down. "Most of you aren't expected to survive."

There was a harsh and sudden silence that fell upon the Rangers. The knowledge hit them like a brick: sudden and blunt. Two weeks? That meant that the invasion was being rushed by the Ninjago Government, since the original plan put the initial landings in two months.

Colonel Rogers returned to the map, setting a single hand on it. "The 3rd Battalion is being placed under the command of Lt. Colonel Hendrix. Now, I understand that some of you may not think Hendrix is the best commander… but I expect for you all to treat him with utmost respect."

Kai could almost feel himself scowling. Lt. Colonel Hendrix was known as two things: a hard ass, and a suck up to high command. It was widely believed that he had only received his rank for being a desk jockey and secretary for Major General Liam Jones, head of the12th Ranger Division.

Colonel Rogers stopped his speech. Carefully, as though stricken with age, he stood up, faced the Rangers, and threw up a salute. In response, the Rangers all stiffened, and returned the salute to the Colonel.

"Good." Colonel Rogers said, dropping his hand. "Dismissed."

"I still can't believe Ol' Dog Rogers is leaving." Lars said as the trio of Rangers made their way through the rain and towards their barracks. "I mean, I'm happy for the man, but that was so sudden."

"And can you believe they're putting Hendrix in charge of the Battalion? All he's going to do is get us killed! I don't think that man's had to shoot a rifle in his life!" Kai loudly complained, sulking as raindrops thudded against his back.

Skylor only shook her head once. "I think you guys are overreacting. Hendrix isn't all that bad, I'm sure of it! He didn't get his rank for nothing." She stopped, turning to her compatriots. "What I think we need to do is unify ourselves and get ready for the invasion. There are dark times ahead, and the 3rd Battalion needs to be ready for whatever comes our way."

The other two soldiers sighed before nodding in agreement and waltzing off towards the barracks with many a new thought swirling about in their minds.

 **Well, that was Chapter 1! Remember, Constructive Criticism is allowed and accepted with open arms. I take any sort of criticisms and adapt them into the next Chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and Chapter 2 will be coming out some time in the next week.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back once again with another chapter of Vengeance of Fate! I don't want to waste too much time up here, so I'll just get to the comments!**

 **Lia- Of course I remember you! It's great to see you as well!  
Dixie Gal1861- I still can't thank you enough for making the cover image for this series. I'm glad that you're looking forward to these coming chapters!  
FanOfJay- I'm happy too!**

 **PixalatedNinjas- 'Ya boi' indeed!  
MasterOfCupcakes- I'm glad you liked it! And don't worry, there's more action to come below!**

 **NGGK- Well, you don't have to wait much longer. The chapter's right here!**

Chapter 2: Eyes to the Sky

Flight. There was something about it that Jay Walker craved. Something about it that made his blood pump, his adrenaline go wild, and his heart soar. Something that was just so, so right about it.

Jay sighed. It was good to be back in the cockpit, even if it wasn't his original plane. Instead, he had been outfitted with one of the newer models of FN-34, since his other one crashed during the battle of Ninjago City. Still, he thought the aircraft was pretty cool with all the new gadgets they had installed.

He turned his plane slightly, giving himself a better view of the Sea of Sand. It really was beautiful. He felt his breast pocket, rubbing over the small bottle of soil from the great desert that Zane had given him for Christmas. He wondered how Zane was doing now, roaming about in the jungles of the Dark Island. He hoped his friend was alright.

Jay's thoughts were interrupted by a bit of radio crackle, followed by the voice of his squad leader. "Joker, this is Karnage. Do you have a visual on the city, over?"

Jay steadied his plane, returning to the task on hand. Ahead, just barely on the horizon, was the great city of Ouroboros. Inhabited almost entirely by the ethnic group Serpentine, much of the city held Darese sympathies due to their ethnic similarity. In fact, Jay's target today was the headquarters of a local mafia that was supposedly caching weapons bought from the Darese.

Jay switched on his radio. "Yeah Karnage, I see it. Target's around… two miles out. We're closing in fast, over."

"Alright. Squadron D, quick radio check. Karnage, check."

An audible sigh could be heard from the radio.

"Karnage, what is it with you and your radio checks?"

Jay had to bite his tongue to contain his giggling. Again, Karnage spoke.

"Cut the crap, Piano. We do this stuff so someone doesn't get lost during a mission and killed."

Jay just shook his head. The two pilots arguing were Karnage and Piano, formally known as Captain Louis Karney and Airman Bobby Jole. Karney was the no-nonsense, all business leader of Squadron D. He was mean as a bulldog with rabies when he wanted to be, and, unfortunately for his squadmates, this was usually the case.

Bobby Jole was a bit of a smartass. His brother was quite the pianist in Ninjago, and also a respectable singer, so the rest of the squadron dubbed him "Piano" to tease him on his own shortcomings.

"Alright, alright. Chill out, Karnage. Piano, check."

Jay turned his head right, viewing the plane of Piano, which was cruising at around the same speed as him over the vast and unforgiving desert.

"Joker, check." He radioed in, before turning back to the city.

"Thief, check." The final voice checked in. Jay grimaced and smiled at the same time.

Thief. Quite the fitting name for this particular pilot. He was brought in as a 'replacement' for Huey, the former fourth flier for Squadron D, who was tragically shot down during the Battle of Ninjago City. The reason he was called Thief was because before he was a pilot, he had 13 separate counts of theft. His name was Ronin, but no one except for Karnage really knew his last name.

Jay's first thought about Thief was 'Oh great, another Huey'. But he was quickly proven wrong. Rather than being a bland member of the squadron, Ronin quickly took center stage. Yes, he was a rude and selfish introvert, but he was a great pilot, and Jay quickly found a friend, flight mate, and even competitor in this new pilot.

"Alright boys. You've already got the target locked into your tracking systems. We're going to do a fly-by to gain visual confirmation. Then, we'll head back and hit them with the JDAMs." Karnage paused for a moment as a familiar noise came through the radio. "Is… is that NSYNC?"  
Indeed, a familiar musical number had begun to ring over the radio.

"Sorry Karnage." Piano muttered quickly. With a few tapping sounds, the music was off.

"'I Want You Back?' For real dude?" Jay questioned his flight partner. "That's bad."

"It's just my ringtone!" Piano shouted, attempting to defend himself to his fellow pilots.

Ronin chuckled. "That's a pretty shoddy taste in music if you ask me."

"ENOUGH!" Karnage shouted, bringing silence over the radio. "We're about to fly over the city at Mach 2, so I want all of you to be ready to get visual confirmation on the target! Are we clear?!"  
A flurry of 'Yes Sir's' and 'Alright's' filled the radio.

Jay glanced downward out of his cockpit at the ground below. Sure enough, the city was now underneath the pilots. He scanned ahead, looking for the worn missile batteries and great walls that would mark the headquarters.

"I have confirmed visual on the headquarters. About 2 kilos north, closing in fast." Ronin radioed in.

"Good eye, Thief." Karnage remarked.

Jay sat back in his seat, easing the grip on his joystick. This Thief guy really was a good pilot. Not that Jay ever thought he was a bad pilot. Getting into the 47th Interceptor Wing in and of itself showed great prestige.

Jay's thoughts were interrupted by red flashes lighting up his cockpit. He quickly stiffened up, flipping a few switches on the board in front of him.

"Hang on," he muttered over the radio, looking at the screen in front of him. It said, in big red letters, "WARNING. MISSILE LOCKING ONTO FN-34. PLEASE ADVISE."

"Ah hell," the pilot muttered. "This is Joker, I have a missile locking onto me! Permission to divert from course to avoid?"

Karnage was quick to respond. "Copy Joker, we've already got a visual confirmation on the target area, over."

With this confirmation, Jay quickly yanked back his joystick, pulling back his plane. He pushed forward on the throttle, increasing speed. He looked back at the headquarters, watching as one of the Surface-to-Air-Missile or SAM launchers fired a rocket at his plane. He quickly banked right, attempting to avoid the missile as it drew ever nearer to his aircraft.

The missile stayed his course, hot on his trail. Jay cursed. He flipped a switch, releasing a set of flares from his plane. Sure enough, this did the trick, and the many streaks of light and smoke confused the missile's tracking system. It exploded in a great ball of flame a few thousand yards behind Jay's FN-34.

"Missile's gone. Returning to original flight path, over." Jay said, exhaling the breath he had been holding in for most of the engagement.

Soon enough, the four planes of Squadron D were back on course, soaring over the majestic and ancient city.

"Banking left." Karnage said into his radio, turning his plane around and back towards the headquarters.

"Banking left," Piano repeated, as he too banked around.

The remaining two pilots followed suite, and fairly soon all of them were ready.

"Okay boys," Karnage said, adjusting the grip on his joystick. "Line formation, we're going to take turns hitting this thing."

All four pilots got into a long line and readied their grand arsenal of weapons. Karnage went first, followed by Jay, then Piano, and finally Thief.

Then, the crackle of static was interrupted by the deep voice of Squadron D's leader. "Missiles away."

Jay leaned to his left to get a better view of the bombardment. Sure enough, the compound was being lit up by explosions that threw dust and dirt and sand into the air. The pilot leaned back in, making sure his locking system was ready once more, before pressing the button on his dashboard. "Payload's out." He said before tugging the joystick right and pulling his plane away from the deadly SAM missiles still on the compound.

Piano's turn. The FN-34 quickly zoomed towards the compound with its missiles armed and in firing position. But before Piano had the opportunity to send his vast array of JDAMs towards the compound, something lit up.

One of the SAMs had unleashed its full payload towards Piano's fighter; perhaps a last ditch attempt by the Ouroboros militia to score a kill or stop the bombardment.

No matter the goal, it successfully kept Piano from firing off his payload. Instead, the pilot cursed and sporadically twisted his plane left to avoid getting blown out of the sky. Jay felt like it was an eternity before Piano released his flares, but he finally did it, diverting the last few missiles from his course.

But Thief was still racing towards the compound. His weapons were ready, his radio silent. The pilot seemed poised to kill, which was of course his job.

Once more, the SAMs fired five missiles directly at Thief's plane. The three other pilots in the sky began to panic, shouting at Ronin to abort and get out of the way. But Ronin was silent.

He simply released his payload, firing four rockets towards the headquarters. Then, he gently pulled the nose of his plane upwards and fired off three consecutive flares, their red glow showering over the city folks below.

Sure enough, the five missiles tracked the flares instead of Thief. But Ronin was far too close to the ground to cause no damage, as was shown when the missiles began exploding above buildings, cars, and civilians.

The last missile tracked onto Ronin's last flare, which had exploded only 100 feet above the ground. But instead of stopping at the flare and exploding, the missile somehow missed the red glow, screamed straight over what appeared to be an apartment building, and slammed into a goat's pen, exploding in a ball of flame.

"Holy Hell!" Piano shouted, zipping past the crater that was once a goat farm. "Did anyone see any civilians in that pen?!"

Karnage began to speak rapidly, also doing a fly-by over the great crater. "Negative, negative. It was devoid of human life. Probably pissed off some goat farmer by killing his flock, but I see no civilian casualties."

Jay remained silent, which was an oddity for him. Instead of examining the crater, he looked towards the target. Indeed, the building had gone up in smoke and collapsed. No one had escaped the sheer firepower that the FN-34's were bringing.

But instead of feeling pride, like he usually did after a successful mission, Jay felt some sort of hard-to-place emotion that embedded itself deep within his chest, making him sick to his stomach.

He turned his head, looking at Thief's plane gently cruising back towards the direction of base as though nothing had happened. There was something very, very wrong with that pilot. Something Jay hadn't noticed prior.

The way back was equally as silent as after the bombing run. Jay and Ronin remained silent while Karnage tried to report back to base. Piano would mutter something under his breath every once in a while, trying to get through the tension, but to no avail.

As soon as Jay's plane was back in its hanger, next to Ronin's, he moved to confront the pilot. Thief had removed his G-suit in favor of a T-shirt and pilot's pants. Jay left the G-suit on, simply tossing his helmet back into the cockpit and climbing out of his FN-34.

"Ronin!" He shouted towards the pilot, who had begun walking towards the hanger doors. "Ronin!" He said again, louder this time. Once again, Ronin didn't turn around. Jay jogged to keep up as Thief exited the hanger, speed-walking as to seemingly avoid his fellow pilot.

As soon as Jay was behind his target, he began his ranting. "Are you out of your damn mind? You were far too close to the ground to do something stupid like that! We told you to pull away while you had the chance, there was always time for another run! You didn't need to make it all in one go!" Seeing that he was being ignored, Jay shouted. "Do you just not care?!"

Ronin stopped, turned around, and raised his finger towards Jay, who was now only a few feet away from him, "I was assigned to this air wing because they saw potential in me. The Colonels, the Majors, the Generals, they all thought that I should be here. Why should I let them down? Hm? So please Walker, excuse me for putting my life and the mission over a few goat farmers in Ouroboros!"

"That was a highly populated urban area! You're lucky no one died!"

"See if I care! And the mission was completed, wasn't it? The target was destroyed, and the militia won't be coming back very soon after that hit!"

Jay shook his head slowly, keeping his glare aimed at Ronin. "You swore an oath to protect those people."

"I swore an oath to protect Ninjago. If the citizens of Ninjago get in the way of me doing that, well, that's their fault." And with that, Ronin continued his path towards the barracks, not caring whether or not Jay was still following him.

 **Soooo, what did y'all think about that? I'm not sure if I put Ronin in the right role here, but I think being a pilot suits him, especially considering he has his own ship in the show! Anywho, I'll see you guys next week with the third chapter of Vengeance of Fate!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm hoping the Canmerican folks out there had an excellent Canada Day/Independence Day! I know I certainly did! I won't waste too much time up here, but before we get to the chapters…**

 **Lia- Trust me, I've never been in combat before. I'm just very knowledgeable in the subject of military tactics and weaponry. Glad you enjoyed the Chapter!  
FanOfJay- Thank you!**

 **NGGK- Yeah, I guess you could say that!**

 **MasterOfCupcakes- I'll try and keep it up with the action. Unfortunatley, there isn't too much in the chapter below, but Chapter 4 has a little bit of naval combat in it!**

 **MNC- Thanks! I most certainly did enjoy my 4** **th** **of July, and I sincerely hope you did the same!**

Chapter 3: Behind Enemy Lines

Two Darese soldiers casually strolled through a lush, fertile jungle about ten miles south of Jankikai. The two had spent the last few months fighting in a foreign land across the vast and never-ending sea, and it felt good for them to finally be back on the Dark Island.

One laughed at the joke his companion had just told him. They were supposed to be patrolling the grand jungles and forests of their nation, but considering they were under the impression that their enemies did not yet have the capabilities to properly invade them, they were taking it rather slow.

The jokester, who had cracked a smile at his companion's wild laughing, took a few seconds to admire the view. The birds were chirping their lovely songs from their perches among the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a jaguar sent its ferocious call throughout the jungle, warning any other animals that if they wished to become king of the forest, they'd know where to find him.

"Ie as buut, no as ie, Jiko?" He asked his partner, not taking his eyes off the lush foliage that presented itself all throughout his island. He waited for a few seconds, but when he got no reply, he asked again. "Jiko?"

Nothing.

The Darese man wheeled around, raising his DR-21, only to find his friend lying on the ground with gaping holes in each side of his neck. The Darese man's eyes widened, and as he prepared to shout for help, a bullet smashed into his jaw. He was sent sprawling to the dirt below.

About four kilometers away, Henry "Hank" Jones bolted his M28 sniper rifle, ejected the cartridge. He and his companion were situated on a cliff side overlooking the sprawling jungle that covered most of this country.

On his left, Luicha Khatosi slowly lowered the binoculars he had been using to spot for the sniper. "Good shot, Hank." He said, before quickly muttering in his native language of Darese "Tu balo par loja af."

Even with this first compliment, Hank grimaced. "Nah, not really. I was going for his temple." The sniper grumbled, readjusting his scope.

Luicha glanced over at his squad mate. "You blew his jaw off. Isn't that good enough for you?"

"What can I say?" Henry spoke, "The Captain, he expects perfection."

"Where is Stone-Cold Julien anyway?"

Henry stuck his thumb behind him, towards the forest that lay behind them. "Somewhere in there, meditating. Y'know, reflective stuff."

Luicha returned to looking through his binoculars. "Sure man. Oop." He said, cutting himself off. "Patrol of three, about four kilos out towards our northwest."

"2 days of a ration's desert says I can kill each one of 'em in 20 seconds." Henry said, a sly smile coming over his face as he located his target.

"Jones, I'm confident when I say that's one bet you're gonna lose." Luicha responded.

Behind the two, deep within the jungle, Zane Julien sat on a large rotting log in lotus position; his eyes closed tight and his hands gently rested on his thighs. His rifle sat leaning against a tree a few meters away from him, but he didn't care about that now. His focus was on finding the peace within himself in this horrid and deadly place that he now resided in.

His meditative state was interrupted by three shots, all within 20 seconds of each other, and yelling coming from his companions. Even though they had interrupted him, Zane couldn't help but crack a smile. The two men under his command were like family to him; like little brothers that he needed to help succeed.

"Enough meditating for today." Zane told himself as he wrapped everything up. He got up from his position on the log, grabbing his CL-19 from its position on a nearby tree.

He checked his rifle, making sure the safety was off and that the gun was overall in a ready position to fire. Once taking those necessary measures, he began making his way towards his partners, who were situation just north of him. He decided to check in with them to make sure that the three shots he had just heard were indeed from Henry's sniper.

Taking his radio from his belt, he quickly flipped it on and began to speak. "Ice 2, Ice 3, this is Ice 1. I'm heading your way. Any troubles with enemy patrols yet, over?"

He got his response quite quickly as Henry's voice blared into the radio. "Negative Ice 1, we've just picked off a few down in the forest. I think our turn for patrolling is almost up, so we'll start heading towards you as well, over."

Zane nodded to no one in particular. "Copy, see you in a few minutes, over." The operative strapped his radio back onto his belt and continued his trek towards his teammates. The forest was thick and dense, but he had gotten used to it over the past three weeks.

The operative prepared to take his next step, but he stopped in his tracks. Resting right in front of him, barely visible, was a tripwire. No thicker than a piece of metal wire, it stretched in between a bush and a nearby tree. The only thing that one could possibly see it by was the glint it gave off from the sun.

Zane took a few steps back, tightening the grip on his CL-19. He once more took his radio from his belt and began to speak into it. "Ice 2, Ice 3, this is Ice 1. I'd suggest watching your step. It looks like this area is booby trapped, over." He waited for a few seconds, but got no response. "Ice 2, do you copy? Hank, you there?" Once again, nothing.

Zane switched his frequency and spoke into the radio again. "Beehive 2, this is Ice 1. Liam, I think we've got a bit of a situation here. I'm trying to reach Hank and Luicha, but I've got nothing, over."

This time, a response did come through. "Maybe they ran out of battery power."

Zane furrowed his eyebrows. "They both ran out of battery power, at the same time? Unlikely."

"I'll send Tommy and Randal to check it out, over." Beehive 2 responded.

Zane nodded, now slightly worried for his partners. "Copy. The ground around here's been booby trapped, so tell 'em to be careful, over."

"You got it, Julien."

Zane strapped his radio onto his belt, returning to his present course. He removed his P12S from its holster, stepping back. He fired once into the tripwire, making an explosive in a bush nearby go off. It made an excruciatingly loud _Boom!_ as it rained dirt and leaves onto Zane. Had he been standing near the tripwire, it certainly would've killed him.

" _Crafty."_ Zane thought to himself. _"Devious, but crafty."_

Just then, his two friends came rushing from behind a tree, moving as quickly as possible. They stopped when they saw Zane, seeming to relax at the sight of their captain.

Hank, who had his M28 slung over his shoulder, ran up to Zane and sighed in relief. "Thank God you're alright! We heard the shot and the explosion, so we double-timed it to get to you."

Zane just shook his head once, slinging his own CL-19 over his free shoulder. "I'm fine, just another trip wire. I was worried for you guys! You weren't responding to radio transmissions. I had to call Liam to tell him to get some guys over here."

Luicha stepped forward. "Sorry about that. Our radios were deactivated," he said, pulling a cube-shaped object from his front pocket. "Because of this."

Zane examined the object, taking it from Luicha. After a few quick seconds, he spoke. "Darese jamming device." He continued to look at the object, holding it up to the light. "Is it still on?"

Luicha shook his head. "No. I was able to shut it off quite quickly."

Zane shook his head, lowering the device. "Every day, the Darese get better and better at tracking us."

"Better?" Henry said. "Cap'n, they don't even know we're here." The sniper leaned on a nearby try, grinning as he fiddled with the bolt on his M28.

"I wouldn't get cocky if I were you, Hank." Said a voice behind him.

Zane turned to find Tommy Peterson and Randal Kanim, two members from Beehive Team, working their way through the luscious jungles around them. Tommy, Beehive's sniper, had been using a machete to hack his way through the thick vines that covered the land.

"Come on, Tom. You know as well as I do that we're practically invisible up here. The Darese patrols have slipped right by us every night for the three weeks we've been here. Every time!" Henry countered.

Tommy simply shrugged. "One of these days, we're going to get unlucky. I'm just trying to get Captain York to understand that."

Randal Yutan, one of Beehive's two riflemen, placed a hand on his squadmate's shoulder. "You know damn well why York doesn't listen to you."

Tommy brushed his hand off. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, are you guys all good? The Captain told us to get here as quickly as we good, and that 'their lives might depend on it!'" He said, imitating his Captain's scratchy voice.

Luicha chuckled a bit. "We're all good here. What, is our shift over?"

Randal nodded. "Yeah, you guys are off the hook for now. We'll see you back at the FOB in about three hours."

Tommy flipped the knife in his hands, holding it lightly by the blade. "Adieu."

Zane grabbed the machete from the sniper, holding it up. "Good luck out there, gentlemen."

And with that, they went their separate ways. The members of Ice Team pushed their way through the forest.

After about a hundred yards, Luicha got restless. "How far is the FOB, anyway?"

Zane, who was separating a vine covered with thorns from a nearby tree with a swift chop of the machete, slightly turned. "About half a mile. What, do you need a bathroom break?"

Henry chuckled slightly, causing Luicha to go red. "No, I was just curious as to-"

A loud explosion behind them cut off the Darese man.  
"Aw, hell." Henry muttered as he and his teammates wheeled around and began sprinting towards the sound of commotion.

As they got closer, the sound of calls for help became evident. Eventually, they returned to their original position, where a new smoky cloud had appeared to touch down.

Zane coughed a few times, trying to wave away the smoke. As it began to clear, he could make out two figures: one on the ground and another one kneeling next to him.

The trio ran over to find the mangled and bloody body of Tommy on the ground, with his eyes wide and face stuck in an expression of pure shock.

"Ma Jahiva…" Luicha muttered, making the sign of the Cross at the display.

Zane stood, unmoving as Henry kneeled down next to Randal. The sniper's words echoed clear through the Captain's mind:

" _One of these days, we're going to get unlucky."_

"Looks like today's the day." Zane whispered to himself as the last smoke dissipated from the area and the broken tripwire at his feet was revealed.

 **Darese Translations-**

" **Ie as buut, no as ie, Jiko?": It is Beautiful, is it not, Jiko?**

" **Tu balo par loja af.": You blew his jaw off.**

" **Ma Jahiva…": My God…**

 **So guys, this was Chapter 3! Sorry that the story's starting off somewhat loose and slow but trust me, I'll be getting to the actual invasion portion of this in no time at all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. A little info for you before the Comment Responses.**

 **I won't be able to post any new chapters for the next few weeks, as I'll be spending most of that time out west and away from my PC. But I'll have a new chapter out as soon as I get out.**

 **Loki- I was hoping someone would point that out! To be honest with you, it's not actually a Mosin; I just threw it in there as a reference to Simo Hayha, who I've studied for a while now.**

 **MNC- It's good to get a second opinion. I'm glad that my pacing isn't exactly too slow, so thanks for that!**

 **Lia- I did make the Darese language, but I'm mostly making it up as I go. And yes, I did get the word for God from Jehova. Good eye!**

Chapter 4: The House

Left hook, right hook.

 _He remembered it perfectly. The setting, the details, the people. Everything._

Right hook.

 _The loud crashing of the landing craft against the thick waves. The heavy drops of water that landed on the Marines as they prayed, talked, or sat, awaiting the doom that was about to befall them all._

Right uppercut, left hook.

 _As they got closer to the sandy beaches, the rolls of thunder were met by the deafening slaps of gunfire against the waves. Sharp pinging noises arose, as rounds started slamming against the metallic door of the landing craft._

Left hook, right hook, left hook.

 _The craft slid up against the war-torn beach, coming to a sudden halt on the shore._

 _The doors opened._

Cole opened his eyes, using his hands to steady the punching bag he had been whaling on for the past ten minutes. He had needed to blow off some steam, and the gym felt like the perfect place to do it.

"You got that out of your system, Macho man?" Dareth asked the sweating Marine before taking another sip of water from his canteen.

Cole shook his head, examining the punching bag. "No, I don't think I did." He stayed silent for a few moments. "Eight days, Dareth. Eight days until we launch the invasion, and I don't even know if I'm ready for it."

Dareth nodded a few times, adjusting his seat a few feet from his comrade. "Well, we gotta do it. Remember what those bastards did to our home, to our country!"

"I know, I know." Cole responded, turning to face his friend. "But to sacrifice this much life? Just for a little bit of revenge? Who's to say that we survive the opening invasion? Maybe the landing craft hits a mine, or we get gunned down on the beach. Then what?"

"Cole, I find your lack of faith in the Marine Corps disturbing." Dareth said in his best imitation of a deep, menacing voice.

"Now isn't the time for jokes. We're going to a beach to be slaughtered by some Stone Army bastards, and for what? To appease the Colonel's appetite for death? I'm all for following orders and defending Ninjago; after all, it's the moral code the Corps is built upon. But aren't we taking this a little too far? Aren't we no better than-"

A sudden lurching and a flicker of the lights cut him off. Some of the other Marines around them began muttering about faulty wiring and stupid sailors.

Dareth sighed. "Cole, let's take a walk. I'm going to show you the lay of the land." He set down his drink.

"But I'm not finished with my exercise!" Cole said.

The other Marine stood up from the bench. "I don't really care. Come on, we're walking."

"You see, Cole, Ninjago is the best nation on Earth. Mostly because of people like me." Dareth said as the two exited the gym and entered a long, metal-walled hallway full of Marines and seamen, all rushing about quickly. "And the Darese? Meh, they're subpar, but they do have one thing going for them in this fight: home-field advantage."

They made a right, and began heading up a set of stairs. Another lurch caused Cole to grab the handrail. Dareth seemingly ignored the lurching entirely and continued up the stairs.

"If we can break the home-field advantage, then we can break the Darese. And how do we break the home-field advantage?"

They reached the top of the stairs, revealing a small platform and a metallic door only a few feet in front of them.

Cole rubbed the back of his head, thinking of a logical answer to Dareth's question. "Get to know the populous and earn their trust? Learn the land and how to use it to our advantage?"

"Y'see that! That's your problem, Cole. You don't think outside of the box. What you really do, is…" He shoved open the door and walked out onto the deck of the N.N.S. _Anacondrai_ , a large battleship in Ninjago's Central Fleet. "…DESTROY THE HOUSE!" Dareth shouted out to the waves.

The deck was being pounded by water, both from the intense rain and the huge waves that would sometimes smash against the sides of the ship and leap onto the deck.

A clap of lightning brought a brief and sharp glow to the deck. Through the darkness, Cole could make out the silhouettes and lights of the _Anacondrai's_ sister ship, the N.N.S. _Hypnobrai_ , and the N.N.S. _Airjitsu_ , an aircraft carrier.

With any luck, Jay was on that aircraft carrier.

Cole snagged the guardrail to avoid slipping and falling. "Destroy the house?!" He shouted to Dareth over all the noise.

Dareth nodded. "That's how we win the war!"

"It didn't work the first time!" Cole responded.

Dareth furrowed his brow, seemingly just now remembering the first war. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a low droning sound.

A jet screamed overhead, only around 80 feet above them.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Dareth exclaimed. "Was that one of ours?!"

"I dunno!"

Sailors began dashing about. Cole could see the Anti-aircraft guns on the battleship seemingly tracking the plane's movements as it darted out of sight.

All was silent except for the waves crashing, a clap of thunder, and the pitter-patter of rain. The drop of a pin could set off an oceanic conflict.

And then, it happened. The anti-aircraft guns opened up, causing Dareth and Cole to cover their ears. The loud rapping of machine-gun fire and the bright lights of tracer rounds began filling up the darkened sky.

Something in the air behind the ship caught alight, and a few seconds later, the same jet from before came tumbling past and smashed into a wave about 200 yards in front of the _Anacondrai_.

The guns went silent, and Cole turned around to find Dareth making his way into the ship. "Where the hell are you going?!" He called after his friend.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting to get bombed by a K2!" The Marine shouted, before running back below deck.

Cole grabbed a Sailor who was trying to get to the bow of the ship. "Hey!" The sailor fought, trying to get free. "What the hell just happened?!" Cole shouted.

The sailor finally relented. "That K2 was scouting us! Now let go, I'm trying to get to the frontal battery!"

Cole released him, and began looking about, trying to make sense of the chaos. The _Hypnobrai's_ Anti-air guns lit up once more as Darese K2 Fighters began to fill up the skies.

"Oh God, have mercy on me…" Cole muttered, and began to make his way towards the door. A K2 began firing on the deck, putting dents and holes into the ship. Everyone was now scrambling. A full on battle was about to start.

Cole rushed down the stairs past some Marines. Red lights filled the hallways. A sailor began shouting orders through the halls: "The rest of the fleet is on the way! Get below deck and await further orders!" Cole decided listening to the sailor was the best idea.

He ran down the next flight of stairs and into the armory, where about 30 Marines were gearing up for combat. "What in the Sam Hill are you all doing?!" Cole shouted.

One man stopped to inform him that they were being boarded. Cole shook his head. "No, no!" We're not being boarded! I was just out there, it's only some fighters!"

The Marine scoffed. "Suit yourself, pal."

Cole merely shook his head. "You guys are acting like idiots! We need to help-" An explosion rocked the ship.

The Marines in the armory began freaking out. "Are we hit?!"

Cole decided not to wait around and find out. He turned back and started running towards the starboard side of the ship. After running through a few more of the metallic hallways, he reached the lower deck.

Marines and sailors were quietly whispering amongst one another and looking out the window. The sound of the K2s had stopped, as had the Anti-aircraft fire.

"Are we hit?" Cole asked a sailor. He had a grim look on his face, and merely pointed at the window.

Cole shoved past another Marine, glancing out. His eyes widened. Smoke was rising from the _Hypnobrai_ , and it was quickly sinking underneath the dark and hardened waves.

"Three and a half thousand men." Muttered a sailor.

Cole turned, a look of dread spreading across his face. "But… but there'll be survivors, right?!" He grabbed the Marine next to him. "Right?!"

The man shook his head. "With this weather? Man… I dunno."

Cole turned back to the waves. He could almost hear the screams of the sailors on board, wailing to be saved. Their cries would fall on deaf ears.

The Marine turned away. A shadow was cast across his face by a bolt of lightning.

Dareth's words were now ringing back in his ears, playing again and again like a broken record.

' _Destroy the house.'_


End file.
